Ratchet type cam lock for a roller

ABSTRACT

A hub provided at an end of a roller rotates with the roller. A stationary cap mounted to an axle of the roller is positioned adjacent the hub. A pawl pivots on the cap and is movable to engage gears on the hub. The pawl has two abutment surfaces mounted. The pawl pivots between a first position wherein one of the abutment surfaces engages the geared surface to prevent rotation of the hub in a first direction and a second position wherein the other abutment surfaces engages the geared surface to prevent rotation of the hub in a second direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/192,136,filed Nov. 13, 1998 and issued Jul. 18, 2000 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,306.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of awnings andspecifically to a locking mechanism for an awning roller.

Awnings commonly include a canopy having one edge attached to a wall andan opposite edge attached to a roller. The roller rotates on an axlesupported on support arms at each end of the roller. The support armsare pivotably attached to the wall. The roller rotates on the axle sothat the canopy can be rolled on the roller for storage. The roller isspring loaded to facilitate rolling of the awning by a torsion spring,for example. It is desirable to lock the roller in position when theawning is in a stored or deployed position. In particular, roller locksare known that toggle between a “roll up” position, which preventsdeployment and permits retraction of the canopy, and a “roll down”position, which prevents retraction and permits deployment of thecanopy. Examples of roller locks are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,654 toDuda, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,396 to Quinn, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,223 toOuellette.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a roller lock including an axle and a hubdisposed for rotation on the axle and having a geared surface. A cap ismounted stationary relative to the axle. A pawl has two abutmentsurfaces and is mounted for rotation on the cap between a first positionwherein one of the abutment surfaces engages the geared surface toprevent rotation of the hub in a first direction and a second positionwherein the other abutment surfaces engages the geared surface toprevent rotation of the hub in a second direction.

A pawl pivot and lever shaft are mounted to the cap. A handle isprovided for pivoting the lever shaft. A lever is mounted to the levershaft and operated by the handle to engage and rotate the pawl. Thegeared surface is an interior surface of an annular ring. The hub ismounted on an end of a roller tube and the axial flange extendslongitudinally away from the roller. The cap includes axial projectionsdefining stops limiting rotational travel of the lever. A spring biasesthe pawl toward a respective one of the first or second positions towhich the lever has rotated the pawl. A first spring mount projectsradially from the shaft and a second spring mount is disposed at thepawl in an offcenter position with respect to a rotational axis of thepawl, wherein the spring is secured to the first and second springmounts. The pawl includes shoulders for being engaged by the lever, theshoulders being positioned so that operation of the lever in onedirection rotates the pawl in one direction and operation of the leverin another direction rotates the pawl in another direction to force thepawl to disengage when its direction is reversed. This assures theoperator that the pawl has been disengaged from the teeth and the rollercan be rotated in a direction corresponding to the position of thehandle. The lever nests between the shoulders. The shoulders and leverare shaped and positioned such that the lever engages the shoulder toprevent rotation of the pawl beyond the neutral position unless thelever is rotated. The abutment surfaces are parallel, oppositely facingsurfaces radially spaced from the pawl pivot. The lever includes a pairof parallel, spaced drive surfaces laterally offset from an axialcenterline of the lever shaft. The cap and hub are provided withpassages that can be aligned and further comprising locking pin that canbe inserted in the aligned passages to prevent relative rotation of thecap and hub. A spring urges rotation of the roller in at least onedirection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle having an awning according to the inventioninstalled thereon;

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of lock components for the awning;

FIG. 3 shows a hub of the awning;

FIG. 4 shows an end cap assembly of the awning; and

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the lock components.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 includes a side wall 12 having anawning assembly 14 mounted thereon. The awning assembly 14 includes acanopy 16 having a proximal edge secured to the wall 12. A distal edgeof the canopy 16 is secured to a roller 18. The roller 18 is supportedat its ends by a pair of support arms 20 removably secured to the sidewall 12. Tension on the canopy is maintained by a pair of extendablerafters 22 secured at upper ends of the support arms 20. A roller lock24 is provided at an end of the roller 18.

Referring to FIG. 2, the roller lock 24 includes a hub 26 and an end cap28. A pair of axle bearings 30 are inserted in a central passage 32 ofthe hub. A pawl 34 is pivotably mounted on a pawl pivot 36 projectingfrom a face of the end cap 28. A lever shaft 38 extends through a shaftpassage 40 provided with a shaft passage bearing 41 in the end cap 28. Alever 42 projects laterally from an end of the shaft 38. A spring mount44 projects radially from the end of the shaft 38 in a directionopposite to the lever 42. A spring 46 is connected to the pawl 34 andthe spring mount 44. A pair of lever stops 48 are provided adjacent theshaft passage 40.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the hub 26 includes a ring 50 and aninterior disk 52. The central passage 32 passes through the disk 52 andincludes a bushing 54 on an interior face of the disk 52. An interiorsurface of the ring 50 on the exterior side of the disk 52 is providedwith gears 56. Each gear includes a pair of opposed faces 57 joining ata rounded angle. An offcenter passage having an extended boss defines ahub portion of a locking pin receptacle 58.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the end cap 28 is a circular disk providedwith an offcenter passage and an extended boss defining a cap portion ofa locking pin receptacle 60. A central passage 62 formed by a boss 63corresponds with the central passage 32 of the hub 26.

The pawl 34 includes two abutment surfaces 64 spaced radially from acentral passage 66. Projecting bearing surfaces 68 are provided on aninterior face of the pawl 34 for bearing on the exterior surface of thehub disk 52. A spring mount hole 70 is provided adjacent the centralpassage 66, offcenter with respect to a pivot axis of the pawl 34. Apair of shoulders 72, defined by projections or a recess, are positionedalong a side of the pawl 34 facing the lever 42. The shaft passage 40 isdisposed so that the shaft 38 and pawl pivot 36 have parallellongitudinal axes. The pawl pivot 36 and shaft 38 are disposed such thatthe lever 42 nests between the two shoulders 72. The lever 42 definesdrive surfaces 74 at opposite ends thereof. The drive surfaces 74 arepositioned to engage the respective shoulders 72 when the shaft 38 ispivoted. An arm 76 projects radially from the shaft 38 in a directionopposite from the lever 42. The lever stops 48 are positioned to limittravel of the arm 76. A spring mount 78 projects from an end of the arm76 in a direction parallel to the shaft 38. The spring mount 78 includesa post on which a curled end of the spring 46 can be hooked and a capretaining the spring on the post. A recessed arc 79 in the boss 63around the central passage. 62 provides clearance for pivoting of thearm 76. A handle 80 located on an exterior face of the cap 28 is mountedfor pivoting the shaft 38.

Referring to FIG. 5, the end cap 28 nests in the hub 26 and issurrounded by the ring 50. The pawl 34 and lever 42 are captured betweenthe end cap and hub. The central passages 32, 62 are aligned and receivean axle 82 of the roller 18. The axle 82 is fixed to the end cap 28 by apin 84. The roller 18 and hub 26 rotate on the axle 82 and the end cap28 is stationary relative to the axle. A torsion spring 86 urgesrotation of the roller 18 on the axle 82 in one direction. Rotation isfacilitated by the bearings 30. The axle 82 is supported by one of thesupport arms 20 (FIG. 1).

In operation, the awning assembly 14 is in a retracted position whereinthe canopy 16 is rolled on the roller 18 and the roller is disposedadjacent the wall 12. The roller lock 24 is in a “roll up” position,which prevents deployment of the awning. To deploy the awning, theroller lock 24, by operation of the handle 80, is moved to a “roll down”position. Movement of the handle 80 moves the arm past a centerposition, which overcomes the force of the spring 46. The lever moves sothat one of the drive surfaces 74 engages one of the shoulders 72causing the pawl 34 to pivot. Pivoting of the pawl 34 causes one end ofthe pawl to be withdrawn from between two of the gears 56. Pivoting ofthe pawl 34 causes the other end of the pawl to nest between two of thegears 56 such that the abutment surface 64 engages one of the faces 57of one of the gears. If, when the pawl is pivoted, the end of the pawldoes not nest between the gears, the spring will cause the pawl to dropinto engagement with one of the gears, and thus stop rotation of the hubwhen the abutment surface is flush against the face 57.

The roller 18 can now be rotated such that the canopy 16 unrollstherefrom. The end of the pawl 34 nesting between the gears 56successively passes over each of the gears as the hub 26 rotates withthe roller. The torsion spring 86 biases the roller in the oppositedirection. The pawl prevents 34 rotation in the opposite direction byengagement of the abutment surface 64 against one of the faces 57. Abottom face of the lever 42 is configured and positioned relative to theshoulder 72 to prevent the pawl 34 from pivoting past the centerposition as the roller 18 is rotating and thus prevent the pawl fromundesirably engaging a face 57 on the wrong side.

To retract the awning, the handle 80 is operated to move the pawlthereby disengaging the contact surface 64 from the gear face 57.Movement of the pawl causes the other contact surface 64 to engage oneof the faces 57 of one of the other gears 56. The roller lock 24 nowpermits rotation of the roller in a direction that will wind the canopy16 onto the roller 18 and prevents rotation in the opposite direction.The torsion spring 86 causes the roller to rotate thereby winding thecanopy onto the roller and retracting the awning.

As the roller rotates, the pawl travels over the geared surface,pivoting slightly in a ratcheting motion. Because the lever and pawlpivot separately and are not rigidly linked, the handle does not movewith the pawl during this ratcheting.

The present disclosure describes several embodiments of the invention,however, the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Othervariations are contemplated to be within the spirit and scope of theinvention and appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A roller lock comprising: an axle; a hub disposedfor rotation on the axle and having a geared surface; a cap mountedstationary relative to the axle; and a pawl having two abutment surfacesand mounted for rotation on the cap between a first position wherein oneof the abutment surfaces engages the geared surface to prevent rotationof the hub in a first direction and a second position wherein the otherabutment surface engages the geared surface to prevent rotation of thehub in a second direction.
 2. The roller lock according to claim 1wherein the pawl comprises a single piece.
 3. The roller lock accordingto claim 1 wherein the abutment surfaces are concertedly movable.
 4. Theroller lock according to claim 1 wherein the abutment surfaces arejoined for simultaneous movement.
 5. The roller lock according to claim1 wherein the pawl pivots on a single pawl axle.
 6. The roller lockaccording to claim 1 wherein the pawl rotates on an axis laterallydisplaced from the axle.
 7. The roller lock according to claim 1 whereinthe geared surface includes an annular, inwardly facing surface of thehub.
 8. A roller lock comprising: an axle; a hub disposed for rotationon the axle and having a geared surface; a cap mounted stationaryrelative to the axle; a pawl pivot mounted to the cap; a pawl having twoabutment surfaces and mounted for rotation on the pawl pivot between afirst position wherein one of the abutment surfaces engages the gearedsurface to prevent rotation of the hub in a first direction and permitrotation in a second direction and a second position wherein the otherabutment surface engages the geared surface to prevent rotation of thehub in the second direction and permit rotation in the first direction;and a lever pivotably mounted to the cap and operable to rotate thepawl.
 9. The roller lock according to claim 8 wherein the pawl rotateson an axis laterally displaced from the axle.
 10. The roller lockaccording to claim 8 wherein the lever rotates on a lever axle extendingthrough the hub.
 11. The roller lock according to claim 8 wherein thepawl is disposed on one side of the hub and the lever is disposed on anopposite side of the hub.
 12. The roller lock according to claim 8wherein the geared surface is an inwardly facing surface of an annularring.
 13. The roller lock according to claim 12 further comprising aroller on an end of which the hub is mounted and wherein the annularring extends longitudinally away from the roller.
 14. The roller lockaccording to claim 8 wherein the cap includes axial projections definingstops limiting rotational travel of the lever.
 15. The roller lockaccording to claim 8 further comprising a spring biasing the pawl towarda respective one of the first and second positions to which the leverhas rotated the pawl.
 16. The roller lock according to claim 15 furthercomprising a spring engagement member disposed on the pawl in anoffcenter position with respect to a rotational axis of the pawl. 17.The roller lock according to claim 16 wherein the pawl comprises only asingle spring engagement member.
 18. The roller lock according to claim8 wherein the abutment surfaces are disposed at ends of arms projectingsymmetrically from the pawl pivot.
 19. The roller lock according toclaim 8 further comprising a roller on which the hub is mounted and aspring urging rotation of the roller in at least one direction.